Where would we be without Mama? asks Yvonne.

 Yvonne,  was out of school because her mum, a lone parent, was struggling to eke out a living for her family when she gained a free place scholarship into Happy House School.

Eager to learn, knowing her education was secure, she is making the most of every day. 

She writes:

I want to thank Mama Sue for giving me an opportunity to be in Happy House school where I am now in secondary Form 1.

If it were not for her I don't know where some of us would be by now.

Mama has taught us that even though it has not bee easy for us we will manage because we have potential and that we should believe in ourselves.

We are very glad and thankful for the support Mama and all of  you are giving to us.  May the good God bless you and give you long life so that you can continue helping more kids that need help.

In addition,I would want to say thanks for the Smart TVs we now have to use for our studying and for the calculators and computers.

Mama is so kind, and so are all of you who help her to help us.

It is for kids like Yvonne that we must raise £7000 to build and furnish two classrooms for our secondary school by January,
With your help we will do it.

Any amount, no matter how small, will take us a step nearer our goal.

To donate online go to: https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childrenofwatamu/classroomsforkids

Time to play

When the school day is over, our little people change out of their uniforms and head out to play.

And they gravitate to our adventure playground where our little play houses give them a place to chill out, have fun and to let off steam after a busy day.

Classrooms for Kids

We are asking you  to give yourself a  Saturday Smile by making a donation to our Classrooms for Kids Appeal.

We must raise £7000 to build and furnish two classrooms for our secondary school by January and with your help we will do it.

Any amount, no matter how small, will take us a step nearer our goal.

To donate online go to: https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childrenofwatamu/classroomsforkids

Birthday double

There was a very happy Kidz Club this week with everyone back together after those  children who had been on visits to relatives returned safely.
There were two birthdays to celebrate.
Our sweet Charity, who is eight, received her birthday gifts from Mama Sue with a helping hand from our lovely David, while Moffin, who is nine, received his gifts from Papa.
All the family joined in singing birthday greetings to the VIP kids  who were thrilled to be the centre of attention.
Happy birthday Charity and Moffin.

Classrooms for Kids

It's the start of the weekend, and we are asking you  to give yourself a Friday Feelgood Factor by making donation,to our Classrooms for Kids Appeal.

We must raise £7000 to build and furnish two classrooms for our secondary school by January and with your help we will do it.

Any amount, no matter how small, will take us a step nearer our goal.

To donate online go to: https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childrenofwatamu/classroomsforkids

Appeal passes first £1000 milestone

We're on the way!

Generous friends have taken our £7000 Classrooms for Kids Appeal past it's first £1000 in the first two days.

We are so grateful for the kindness of those who believe in what we are doing for our children and who donate so generously when we ask for help.

The two new classrooms are an essential addition to our secondary school, to ensure that we can keep timetabling lessons using the two Smart televisions we have  do not have to compromise on the quality of education 

 We are able to keep the cost to £7,000 (which allows for a very small contingency) because we have some of our own skilled labour – including a joiner, painter and the project will be supervised a member of our team who will work under the direction and to the exacting standards of Mama and Papa.

All our building work complies with building regulations in Kenya.

 The costs are as follows:

·         Building materials: Concrete blocks, cement, sand etc. £3,000. 

·         Roofing (locally made makuti thatching on timber frame) £2000

·         Electrics (we use the services of a local electrician ) £300

·         Paint £200.

·         Doors and windows (to be made in-house by our joiner Charo)  £250

·         Furniture: £625

·         Labour (casual labour):  approx. £500

·         This adds up to a total of £6,875. 

 We aim, funds permitting, to construct the building in the long school holiday, which starts early November and to complete in time for the start of the new school year at the start of January 2018. This will give us adequate time.

 As you can see there are no hidden costs. 

 We don’t have any paid fundraisers, the only people we employ are Kenyans working in our children’s home or school so every single pound, euro or dollar donated goes exactly where  it is intended.

Please help us to build this classrooms by making a donation towards the cost, every amount, not matter how small, will be another bag of nails, brick or bag of cement towards our target. 

If you would like to make a donation by cheque (payable to Happy House) it can be sent to  our volunteer coordinator Elizabeth Gomm, 6 Burwood Drive, Blackpool, FY3 8NS.

You can donate online at  https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childrenofwatamu/classroomsforkids

Our kids count on us, we count on you.

Thank you

Fired up to work hard

Just  some of our kids attending assembly

 As we launched our Classrooms for Kids Appeal, aimed at raising £7,000 to add to new classrooms to our secondary school by January, our Happy House kids were settling down to work for the toughest term of the year.
In the Kenya education system, progression from one form to another depends on performance and the end of year exams, coming up in late October early November, are crucial.
And because of the General Election, which was last month, the coming term is also the shortest our teachers have ever known.
Both them and their students are all geared up to do continue to do their very best, which is all we ask of them.
For our Class 8 Primary students this term brings the crucial national exam, the KCPE, the results of which will determine whether they move on to secondary school.
At the opening day assembly, Mama Sue, who inspires everyone she meets with her own dedication and drive, told the kids how they can fulfil their hopes and dreams through staying focused and working hard at their lessons.
Mama is a motivational force and talks personally to every child, from kindergarten upwards, about their school work and their aspirations.

And after listening intently to what she had to say to them all collectively at assembly, and with more encouraging words from the school head, Mr Isaac, students headed off to class all fired up for the challenging time ahead.
Please can you support our building fund by making a donation or holding a fundraising event.   In the first day  £110 has been raised by supporter and sponsor Fiona Lockyer and her friends.
Fiona and her twin daughters Hebe and Imogen, who have been supporting the Happy House for a number of years, will be visiting Watamu and our family in December and are looking forward to seeing the building work in progress.
With their help and yours it will be.
To make an online donation go to: https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childrenofwatamu/classroomsforkids

Classrooms for Kids £7000 Appeal

Today we are launching an appeal to raise £7,000 to build two new classrooms by January.
Our school puts hope into the hearts of kids where once there was none.

Children and young people living in our children's home and on our scholarship scheme,  all from desperate poverty, are achieving high results in a school where we are giving them a free education that is second to none.

We believe it is essential to equip them for a hi-tech world and through the use of technology we broaden their outlook and their understanding.

As well as having a dedicated computer room, with internet access, we also have two Smart televisions with wifi.

Both donated these are used as a learning tool for classes from playgroup  to secondary school .Lessons, where Smart TV is used, are timetabled by teachers and both are in use all day, every day.
For the younger kids they are key to developing language skills, bringing a marked improvement in English and use of language.  They are becoming fluent in English more quickly than ever before.Teachers are using tvs to stream programmes, videos and apps and are discovering a new impetus for teaching which they have only ever done from text books.They harness technology to give them a flexible and exciting approach to delivering lessons, which keeps students engaged in what they are doing.

But because they are housed in two rooms, originally intended as classrooms, we must now build two new classrooms by January.

Because we have our own skilled labour, and with Papa driving the best deals on materials, we can estimate we can keep the cost down to £7,000.

Every penny has to be raised and we are asking YOU to help us.

Please make a donation, hold an event, set yourself a sponsored challenge or collect among your friends. 

If you need leaflets, help with publicity, etc please contact Elizabeth Gomm who will be happy to help: elizabethgomm@childrenofwatamu.net We only have a short time to raise the money and complete the build.

Our children count on us, and we count on you. 

•  TO DONATE ONLINE GO TO
• https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/childrenofwatamu/classroomsforkids

Ready for school

 Getting one or two children sorted out and ready for the start of a new school term can be pretty hectic, so imagine what it is like when you have a family of more than 80 kids.

The last week has been very busy with teachers and staff working together to ensure that each child will be looking as bright as a new pin for school assembly when school returns this morning.

The older children take responsibility for getting their own things ready, but we have so many little ones that they need a helping hand.

There were socks to sort so teacher Md Eunice helped Aunty Eunice with that, while Md Elizabeth had a marathon session polishing shoes and Md Naomi was busy ironing uniforms.

The kids are excited about starting the third and final term of this academic year. 

It's an important term and for Class Eight primary a very important one as they will be taking their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam in November.